America is evenly split on the NFL's long-standing national anthem controversy over protests of social injustice, according to the latest CBS News poll released Super Bowl Sunday.
Exactly 50 percent of Americans polled believe players should be required to stand during the pregame anthem, while the other 50 percent believe players should be allowed to stand or kneel during the anthem, the YouGov poll revealed.
The debate is almost equally split on whether players acted inappropriately amid the controversy, with 51 percent saying they did and 49 percent saying they did not, according to the poll.
There is overwhelming support for athletes in using their notoriety to raise awareness of causes of their choice, but just 36 percent say they can do so whenever they like. Significantly more people in America can do it but not during sporting events (46 percent).
The poll also found 66 percent say the NFL handled kneeling anthem protests inappropriately, while 63 percent also said President Donald Trump did, too.
The poll surveyed 1,596 U.S. residents between Jan. 28-31 with a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.